Quite the Quiet Pair
by kazorashi
Summary: A new evil spreads. Her last thought. "M-Masaru..." A sick smile. "Touch a nerve, did I?" Fear gripped his heart. "What happened to Fujiwara?" Love stands still & blood needs to spill. A meek & docile love has only little to no chance in surviving the wickedness that targets Hana, now Queen of her kingdom. This is a love story between a quiet witch and a perceiving human boy.
1. Prologue

Quite the Quiet Pair

_Prologue_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ojamajo Doremi**** nor do I own any of its characters. All of this is strictly my imagination running wild.**

**Claimer: I do own the image for this fic. I've never drawn on Paint before, so it was a new thing for me. I'm much better on paper, but I wish I had those draw-pad stuff...whatever you call them. But I like it enough, oh gosh.**

_(A/N: What in the world am I doing? I apologize to my Shugo Chara! readers, talk about hiatus huh? I'm doing this story to get back in business, no promises to finish this one though. Aaah, being young. I was so naive and foolish, filled with energy to finish stories and making promises, now look at me. Well, I'm going to probably go back to the drawing/writing board and re-write ***gulp*** the un-finished stories I have left. There goes my excuses. __It's going to be a long while and I think I've lost my touch. Here's hoping that I'll get it back with this story._

_Ahem, anyways. This is just a little something I thought of and was writing. It's not much. But I hope you guys like it nonetheless. Rating may go up._

_***hides***)_

* * *

"Ah, really?"

"Yes."

"…I see." Masaru replied and went back to his book. His head rested on top of Hazuki's back as she laid on her stomach, reading a book.

_To Kill A Mockingbird._

It was one of those American classics that Momoko had given to Hazuki. And by the way she breathing, Masaru knew that Hazuki really liked the book. She liked it a little too much.

"…Fujiwara?"

"Yes Masaru?" she replied, her nose still stuck in the book.

"When will you be back?" By then, Masaru let the book rest on top of his chest and looked at the back of the head of his friend. He felt her breathing slow down just slightly and frowned.

"Hmm, three weeks? Maybe a month." Hazuki replied, sighing contently. "Around that time." Masaru felt his heart drop.

She was going to be gone that long? And in America?

"What about school?" Masaru felt his cheeks turn red when Hazuki laughed.

"I'll have the teachers send me work, I can do it then." she replied. Hazuki turned a page.

"Is…Harukaze going too?" This time, all Masaru got as a reply was a nod of the head. A bad feeling swept through the quiet teenager's heart with the thought of Hazuki going to America for that long to visit her American friend. She'd be gone from him too long and he didn't want to think of what would happen to her over there. Especially when he couldn't keep an eye on her. It was hard enough that she went to a prestigious all-girls school. Masaru's emerald eyes looked outside Hazuki's large window to the large, old oak tree that had always been there. His gaze focused on one of the very few leaves still intact with the tree and watched it fall slowly, gently to the browning ground.

It split in half before landing in a puddle.

The ripples from the effect were too rough.

Masaru narrowed his eyes. _'A bad premonition?'_ The bad feeling in him only intensified at the sight of the ripples slowing down.

"—aru… Masaru?" Hazuki shifted under him and the boy shot up quickly.

"Sorry." he apologized with his face heating up just a little. Masaru grabbed his book and jumped off of Hazuki's bed. Hazuki gathered the book into her arms and slid off the mattress to the boy next to her. Masaru took in her small figure in a crème blouse and orange skirt. Her porcelain skin shimmered in the sunlight-lit room and her wide, hazel doe-eyes looked up at him. Hazuki's brown hair had reached all the way down to her waist as it was held by a silky, curly white ribbon. It made her more petite than she really was. Masaru shook his head, aware of his own staring and blushed.

"Can I see you off?" asked the 17-year old girl, unaware of Masaru's earlier embarrassment. The younger boy thought back to the leaf.

"No, it's alright." Masaru grabbed his black sweater off of Hazuki's chair. "…so, tomorrow then?" Hazuki shook her head, a sad smile adorning her facial features and the boy's heart dropped a little bit more.

"I'm packing tomorrow."

"…I see. Bye." Without another word, Masaru left Hazuki's room.

"I thought he'd never leave." Hazuki smiled at the voice sounding much like her own and turned around. A tiny-being flew to Hazuki's side, dressed in thin, almost see-through material, covering but exposing everything. Her brown hair was much like Hazuki's, except extended down to her ankles and was sported with a large, pointy, _orange_ witch hat. Her thin slippers looked like that almost of silk and she looked exactly like Hazuki, even though she was the size of said girl's pointed finger. There was a quiet and serene-like air about the tiny-being.

"Good evening Rere." Hazuki held out her palm for the small fairy to land.

"Is that the boy?" The fairy asked as she adjusted her large, circular glasses. Hazuki nodded her head and brought out a thin, clean, pale orange glass wand out of air. Its handle was brown and its hilt was that of a heart. Throughout the thin piece of glass, it was detailed with engraved leaves that could almost blow through the wind if you looked hard enough. Hazuki smiled at the very sight of it. Rere looked up at her master. "Are you ready?"

Hazuki nodded and swept the wand over her head.

"_Magi magia Hazuki_." In the form a smoky and airy thin light, Hazuki's clothes slowly disappeared from toe to head. The light traveled from overhead, touching the floor and Hazuki was sucked into its warmth. Her feet was covered in tanned leather boots, reaching all the way up to her mid-calf and was tied by a black string. The light covered her waist almost gently, gathering itself and forming a flowing, dirty orange colored skirt ending right above her knees. It attacked her upper body more viciously, a sleeveless white blouse tucked by a velvet belt and tied to the top by brown yarn appeared and slowly, the light touched the brunette's shoulders sporting an orange cape tied around her neck, nearing Hazuki's ankles with a hood attached to it. It faded in Hazuki's long hair, tying her long hair into a simple pony-tail with an edgy, sharp orange ribbon.

Rere smiled. "It's wonderful. You haven't lost your touch." Commented the fairy as she over-looked her master once more. "Shall we be going?" Hazuki nodded and aimed at her wand at the large vanity mirror placed in the center of the wall.

"_Magia della musica diffondi la bonta._" Hazuki whispered."_Portale a Witch Regno._" Soon enough, a strong wind whipped past the witch and fairy. Hazuki quickly covered herself and Rere with her long cloak sleeve. The wind, just as abrupt, settled down quickly and a pair of hazel eyes looked into the circular moving portal, taking place where reflection used to be. Hazuki looked at her small companion. "Shall we?"

"You take too long." A tanned girl's face shot out of the portal, hiding the rest of her body. Hazuki and Rere gasped and jumped back, taking a long look at the girl. A small tanned face that most people would die over and familiar lavender eyes greeted them along with a warm smile crossing her full, shiny lips. Her short, dark purple hair stopped at the edge of her face.

"Onpu? Is that really you?" Hazuki asked, eyes glassy.

"Ditched the glasses at last?" Onpu raised a brow. With a hand reaching out, it pulled Hazuki into the portal and Rere followed after quickly. Onpu took one last look at Hazuki's room and disappeared inside the portal itself.

This is a love story between a quiet witch and a perceiving human boy.

* * *

_(A/N: Well, there's the prologue. If anyone's going to ask, I choose for our favorite witchlings to say their spells in Italian. Because it sounded nice. Please know that I'm counting on Google translation, so most of it probably won't be accurate. We all know how that works._

_Also, this is not like the original story-plot. I kind of want to make it a darker fic for this archive. So if it gets intense, uhh, well, then it gets intense. It's pretty short, but thank you for reading. Review if you want, criticism is always allowed, but I'm not sure if I'll be able to improve any of my writing yet. It'll take some time, but I'll do my best._

_Side notes: I haven't been here a long time, the rules got easier to read and follow, hahah. It's so weird coming back, especially since I'm not young anymore, oh geez. Uploading looks weird.)_


	2. Hugged-A-Log

Quite the Quiet Pair

_Hugged-A-Log_

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Ojamajo Doremi**** nor do I own any of its characters. All of this is strictly my imagination running wild.**

_(A/N: This story is writing itself, honestly. Even I, the authoress, have no idea where it's going!)_

* * *

Masaru didn't stop by Hazuki's place the next day.

The sullen 16-year old walked along with his best friend, Takeshi down the street from their high school. He was one of the tallest boys in their junior year. Takeshi was annoyingly tall, irritably handsome, pathetically suave, stupidly smart, and most of all, as loud as a lion.

But Takeshi didn't talk much. Like Masaru, he preferred silence and ravished in it. Both boys spoke little, and rarely talked to anyone at all unless spoken to or forced to say something in front of their peers. Why they were quite popular, they'll never know. And nor did they care.

"That's sad." Takeshi looked up at the darkening sky. _'Looks like another rainy day today.'_ Masaru scoffed at Takeshi's lack of input. "You're not even going to go and say good-bye?" continued the taller boy.

"I did already." Masaru defended, digging his hands into the green parka he wore. He shivered from the biting cold that lingered longer than usual. It was Takeshi's turn to scoff.

"Fujiwara packing and you going out the door is not a good-bye."

"She understood what I meant." Masaru whispered and blushed at Takeshi's comment. He made him sound like the bad guy. Masaru was anything but that. Takeshi sighed and breathed into his hands, rubbing them against one another in a poor attempt to keep warm.

"Yeah, yeah." Takeshi replied. His dark, olive eyes closed. "It's getting pretty cold for October, huh?" Masaru nodded his head in agreement. A long but not uncomfortable silence stretched between them as they kept walking. They had passed by their old elementary school, not sparing it a glance as their thoughts had clouded.

"How's Segawa-san?" Masaru questioned with a stoic tone. If it were anyone else, they wouldn't catch the hint of teasing in his voice. And the wanting to tease in Masaru grew even more when his best friend turned an uncharacteristically shade of red. Takeshi coughed into his heads loudly, almost choking on air. Masaru felt taller than usual as Takeshi scowled at the shorter boy's triumphant smile.

"How do you know about that?" Demanded the taller boy with glaring eyes. Takeshi's long face scrunched up with disgust as Masaru showed him a text message. He read what Masaru held.

_From: Hugged A Log_

_1:14 P.M._

**Segawa-san, like the moon in the dark, you are that light whom I see. I ask for a date in the park, I want you here with me. Can I ask for your hand? Will you spare me your time? I can't promise you happiness, but please know that I'll try. Because in the everything that I know, I want you to be mine.**

**- Hasebe Takeshi**

"I want to die right now." Takeshi moaned and covered his burnt face in his large hands in utter shame and disbelief. _'No wonder I didn't get a reply.'_ Takeshi knew how much the Star Idol liked poetry, especially from him (even if he was still in practice of becoming a better poet). That was the only way he would text her if he ever wanted a reply, and here he was, sending it to the wrong person. The taller boy continued to groan as Masaru had actually spit out a hearty laugh. This fueled Takeshi's embarrassment. "No more, no more. Forget that, delete it Yada, right now!" Masaru clutched his stomach when it started to hurt.

"No, but what name am I in your phone if this is to _Segawa-san_? It's not Shorty, is it?"

"No." Takeshi lied. Masaru _hmm'd_ suspiciously but ignored his gut feeling. "That's embarrassing."

"I think it's sweet." Masaru teased. Takeshi growled and took a swing at the boy. Masaru ducked and stared the taller boy. "Calm down Hasebe. It's not all that bad, if she actually got it, she would've liked it."

"The point is she _didn't_ get it." Takeshi grumbled and folded his arms. He chewed on his lower lip fiercely, wanting to disappear on the spot. Masaru smiled and whistled a tune to himself, both nearing his home.

"You should just send it again." Suggested the shorter of both boys. Takeshi sighed in the end.

"I don't want to disrupt her from filming. Or packing." Takeshi added with distaste. Takeshi gazed at Masaru. "Aren't you going to ask how we started talking?" Masaru shook his head.

"It's your business. If you want to tell me, you can." Masaru didn't finish but Takeshi understood and was grateful to Masaru's understanding about his relationships. If it were Tetsuya, the self-proclaimed soccer champion would demand an explanation.

"Thanks." Takeshi mumbled softly. Masaru nodded his head as they stopped in front of his old house. Takeshi stared along with him at the aging cement and brick building. "Is your dad home now?" Masaru shook his head and brought out his house keys, un-locking the door. He stopped and turned around.

"You coming?" he asked. Takeshi stared a little bit longer before nodding his head. Both boys made their way up into Masaru's room. It was a fair size, not too big and not too small. His bed was a twin and placed near Masaru's favorite spot in the whole room.

The window.

If one sat on the ledge, one would over-look the perfect view of the setting sun. It wasn't the sun that held Masaru's stare—despite all of its pretty colors swirling into one with the sun; it was the park it over-looked. The one where he and Hazuki got into a misunderstanding and made up. It was his special place. Masaru sat on the ledge inside, his legs curling to his chest.

"So what's up?" Masaru looked outside as Takeshi plopped himself onto the other boy's bed, his head resting in his arms and staring at the ceiling.

"I actually wanted to talk about Segawa." Takeshi sniffed. "How do you know?"

"Know what?" Masaru answered in a question, soaking up the warmth of his home. All jackets, back-packs and shoes were off. It was just comfortable uniform on.

"That she's the right one?"

Masaru stiffened when Hazuki's face popped up into his mind. _'She's probably packing for tomorrow.'_ He thought sadly. Masaru's thoughts lingered on Takeshi's question. "You don't know." Takeshi spared Masaru a glance before continuing.

"What kind of answer is that?"

"The worst kind." Masaru grinned cheekily when Takeshi started to grow red. He caught his answer in that small sentence. "So, Hasebe… _Is_ Segawa-san the one?" Takeshi paused.

"Probably is."

Both shared a chuckle.

* * *

"There is absolutely _no_ reception here." Onpu bit her bottom lip as she stared at her cell phone. "He hasn't mailed back yet…" Hazuki stared ponderously at her old friend.

'_When did she start to like Hasebe-kun? How'd they start talking?'_ Questions like this swirled in Hazuki's frail head as both girls waited on top of large pumpkins stranded in a pumpkin field with the most oddly sized and shaped pumpkins they had ever seen. From pumpkins as small as a mouse and almost as big as a house to pumpkins that looked like the face of a cat or that of Elvis Presley. The sky above the witches was a dark violet with black swirling clouds over their heads. It was nearing nighttime and their friends weren't back yet. It was almost unnerving to the quieter of the two girls.

Onpu sighed again and stashed her phone into her woven bag slung over her shoulders. Onpu was dressed in a cloak much like Hazuki's, almost touching the floor except it was a dark shade of purple. Onpu cladded herself in glass slippers that had strappy violet ribbons going up her calves. She had a showy lavender mini-skirt that was too flowing like Hazuki's much longer skirt and had a pale amethyst blouse. Much like Hazuki's except it was folded up to her arms and had a light floral pattern etched onto it, exposing just a little bit of cleavage. Her short hair was clipped to the sides so Onpu could see.

"Are you going to ask?" Onpu stared at Hazuki who blushed, caught red-handed like a criminal.

"H-how _did_ you and Hasebe-kun get together? I thought he liked Kudo-chan." Onpu smiled lightly at the mention of the wrestling-loving girl.

"Yeah, me too." A far-off look showed on Onpu's face and Hazuki knew better than to interrupt. Her eyes had almost dulled before Hazuki saw a little glint. Moments passed before Onpu spoke again. "It was kind of sudden. All I did was drop my sunglasses." A smile appeared on the brunettes face with Hazuki looking on. "He picked them up and it began there. And we're not _together_ really." Onpu added, hiding her face in her hood.

"I see." Hazuki giggled at Onpu's embarrassment. It wasn't often she got embarrassed, being the calmer of the girls.

"Where are your glasses? Hazuki?" Onpu asked out of the blue.

"Contacts."

"You look better without them."

"Thank you." Both girls smiled and Hazuki took in the moment to really take in what was around them. "These pumpkins are unusually darker than last time we visited." Hazuki glanced at the sky and saw a shining blue moon over them. Had it gotten so dark already? "Doremi and them aren't back yet." Hazuki began to worry. Onpu looked below them, nothing but darkness after a flow of orange beneath them. Nerves started to start as both 17-year olds got up. "Should we fly?" Hazuki asked, taking out her wand from thin air.

"I think that's a good idea." Onpu and Hazuki blew a high note whistle in the air as it traveled across the dark land. Soon enough, two clean and narrow broomsticks zoomed through the air and landed in front of each girl respectively. "I've missed you." Onpu whispered to the broom and hopped on. Hazuki did the same as each girl levitated in the air.

Onpu closed her fingers together and brought her hand down as a sharp, darkened amethyst glass appeared as her hand traveled downwards and changed from a tear-drop shape hilt down to the black handle. Music notes traveled down the spine of the wand, almost singing.

"_Magia della musica diffondi la liberta_. _Roro._"

"You called?" A sweet voice asked, appearing right next to Onpu. A fairy much similar to Rere in clothes and size, she looked just like Onpu in every aspect. Roro preferred a much lighter purple than her master.

"Roro," Onpu started. "you were with Doremi and everyone. Take us to them."

"Alright. This way." Roro took off into the air and Onpu followed by closely, Hazuki close behind. Neither girls could shake a growing dark feeling within themselves.

* * *

"Yada-kun?"

Masaru looked up and saw Mutsumi before him. Green eyes glared at brown. Why was she bothering him under the tree? Especially without a sweater in the freezing cold?

"Hn." Masaru folded his arms behind his head and leaned back into the tree. He closed his eyes and waited for the girl to continue. Mutsumi shuffled her feet and looked down at the ground. She continued this action for a few minutes before clearing her throat.

"I was wondering…" her sweet voice faltered. Mutsumi coughed and continued. "I was wondering!" she yelled. Masaru winced at the sudden tone. "I was wondering…if you'd like to accompany me home after school?"

"No." Masaru's answer was immediate and whatever spark of determination that Mutsumi held in her eyes disappeared. She didn't leave, instead Mutsumi got eye-leveled with Masaru, startling the younger boy.

'_What the? What is Kudo doing?'_ Masaru backed away as far as he could. The tree behind him didn't help much.

"Please?"

"Ask Hasebe."

"But I'm asking you." She pleaded. "Please? Yada-kun?"

"No." Masaru glared.

"Why not Yada-kun?" Mutsumi brought her hand and touched his shoulder. Goosebumps traveled down his arm and the boy brushed her touch off. He looked straight at Mutsumi, giving her enough time to back away. She didn't. Instead, her eyes darkened just a little bit and the cold dark look she had made Masaru feel caged, almost vulnerable. He got up from the ground and started to walk away. "Is it because I'm not Fujiwara?" she questioned, almost teasing.

Masaru stilled and turned around slowly, glaring at the short girl. The hate and intensity in his eyes would make any student back away. He knew that even Hasebe would be startled, with all the irritation he felt. Masaru knew how he looked and acted when he got mad. He had frightened Mutsumi before, but she had a sickly sweet, toothy smile. Shivers traveled up and down his spine continuously.

"Touch a nerve, did I?" She whispered. Masaru clenched his fists.

_Ring! Ring! Riiiiiiiiiiiiing!_

Like a curse, the bell rang for the end of lunch. Mutsumi's smile grew even more.

"You're not Kudo, who are you?" Masaru asked with barred teeth.

"You should go to class. I don't want to see you anymore since you don't want to walk me home. Ta-ta." Mutsumi sang in a mocking tone. "…Yada-kun." She added as Masaru turned around, furious at himself. He didn't want to go back to class. He wanted to threaten the girl in front of him but his body wasn't willing to listen. There was almost no control until he entered through the school's giant doors. A breath escaped him as he looked back.

Mutsumi was still there, grinning more than ever. The smile looked like it was about to be ripped off her face if she continued.

Shivering again, Masaru climbed the stairs up to his class, the image of the girl forever burning in his head.

'_That wasn't Kudo.'_ He told himself. Whether to reassure himself or not, Masaru didn't know. But that wasn't Mutsumi. Not the one he knew. They rarely talked to each other, usually sharing Takeshi. That smile she had sent a cold fear through Masaru and he hated it. It made him feel weak. It made him curious and he hated not knowing. It made him scared. Not for himself, but for his closest friend. _'Fujiwara…'_ Hazuki's small smile shook his thoughts. Masaru clenched his fists, shaking before landing in front of the classroom door. If he didn't enter now, he would be late.

"_Touch a nerve, did I?"_

'_Did I do something…bad?'_

_Ring! Ring! Riiiiiiiiiiiiing!_

"Dammit." Masaru opened the doors and quickly slid into his seat before the teacher looked up. The boy searched his desk for a pencil and paper. He frowned when the perfectly sharp and durable lead broke on contact with the sheet. Masaru's fear grew and he looked out the window to his left. Looking below to his favorite spot, Mutsumi wasn't there. His heart beat suddenly quickened as the boy started to feel sick. _'Today, Fujiwara leaves.'_ With thoughts filled of the brunette, the green-haired 16-year old did his best to pay attention to the lesson, squirming every now and then.

That smile wouldn't leave him alone.

Masaru felt like he gave away something he shouldn't have. Something told him that he should have walked away the moment he laid eyes on that Mutsumi. Masaru felt his heart ripping and closed his eyes shut.

"_Masaru-kun." _It was the tender and soft voice he has always loved.

'_What did I give away?'_

* * *

_(A/N: What do I do now?_

_Side note as of December 14, 2012: For those in the United States and especially in Connecticut, my heart and prayers go out to the 20 families who have lost their children in the elementary school shooting. I can't fathom what had possessed the man to do such an action and I'm not even sure if I should be saying this on the site, however my deepest condolences to you all and I pray that our Heavenly Father comfort you in such a time.__)_


	3. Truly A Sad Sound

Quite the Quiet Pair

_Truly A Sad Sound_

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Ojamajo Doremi**** nor do I own its characters.**

_(A/N: I'd just like to thank oolong-sama and ichigo325 for their thoughtful reviews.)_

* * *

"Hazuki! It's been a while! _I'm so glad to see you again!_" Momoko sang the last bit in English, giving a bone-crushing hug to the brunette girl who just entered through the cottage door. Onpu followed, rolling her eyes and sent Roro back to Doremi's side.

"How's Hana-chan?" Hazuki tried to breathe in the blonde girl's ever tight grip. Momoko, realizing what she was doing, quickly let go. Her smile was that of apologizing and Hazuki returned the action.

"She's fine!" Momoko chirped, pulling her yellow hood down. As Onpu and Hazuki, it reached down nearly to the floor. Momoko's witches outfit fitted her body and her personality almost perfectly. Of course she had her earrings. Her feet were adorned with yellow ankle boots, pointed at the top. And had a simple white, fitted cashmere shirt that ending at her bottom. The rest of her was black jeggings. Hazuki remembered that that kind of look was popular in the western hemisphere. Momoko especially liked having her long hair tied in a high pony-tail. _"I look so sophisticated now."_ Her letters would say. Hazuki—looking at the girl now—had to agree. "Hana-chan is safe, for now." The 17-year old confessed, her green eyes looked tired. "Me and Aiko have tried many times to search for whoever's targeting her, but the best we could do was put up an enchantment charm around the castle." Momoko gave a deep sigh and sat down in a rocking chair near the fireplace.

"How's your magic now?" Onpu asked with worried eyes. The Star Idol covered the loveseat in the small but comfortable living room. Hazuki looked around the place.

It was like any casual small cottage. Warm, cozy, friendly. One restroom with two bedrooms covered in red blankets of silk. There were few windows, a desk, and a chair in almost every corner. A single long, narrow mirror for transportation use. A kitchen, Hazuki raised a brow.

Was that really needed? They all knew how to conjure food now, even Doremi. She could eat steak whenever she wanted to. She shook her head.

It felt like home just a little bit. Just a little bit. Hazuki praised Aiko and Momoko in their efforts.

"Like the place?" Momoko asked from her chair. Hazuki nodded slowly.

"It's wonderful…" the quiet witch complimented. Momoko grinned. "But did it have to be in such a dark forest? And dangerous? What if something comes in?"

"Aiko put a charm around it, I wouldn't wander too far though." Momoko warned. Onpu repeated rolling her eyes. "What?" Momoko defended. "We couldn't stay at the castle—it's too obvious. Doremi won't leave there and besides… Being in such a dark place has its charms. No one would target this forest. Too many bad things. I'd even go as far as saying that we're the only ones living here for now." Momoko fist-pumped the air feeling victorious.

"How did you say your magic was again?" Hazuki questioned. The blonde immediately cringed.

"Err, that's why you and Onpu are here." Momoko blushed and laughed nervously as Onpu huffed. "Our magic's weary. We're almost out and it's tiring just being here. We only need a break, that's all. That's why we felt as though it was time to switch."

"How long have you been here?" Hazuki made her way to the red three-cushioned couch, sitting down softly.

"Almost a month." Momoko replied. She brought her knees to her chin and rested her hands and face on top. "Nini's being myself in New York. So, what story did you guys pull off if your fairies are here?" asked the blonde, interested. A smile crept onto her face. "Anyone pull a little lovebird story?"

"No." was both girls' immediate response and Momoko pouted, disappointed. "I'm staying here with you in America." Hazuki replied and smiled when Momoko gaped.

"I'm just on vacation. And told everyone that I needed time off." Onpu smiled sweetly when Momoko scowled. "By myself." She added.

"You have it so easy." The blonde mumbled.

"I wouldn't say that." Onpu looked at the door before someone knocked. Hazuki took note of that. "Who is it?" asked the amethyst witch. Momoko pulled out her wand from her cloak's long sleeve. Much like Onpu and Hazuki's, it was made of glass and had a dark yellow and white handle with a triangle-like hilt. The upper half of her wand was engraved with swirls that could almost make someone dizzy. With a wave, the door opened to reveal Aiko in her dark blue witches' cloak, hood up. It covered her body well enough, but not enough to hide her navy All-Star shoes with white laces.

Onpu raised a brow.

'_They grow to be less and less of witches every day, I swear…' _The purple witch sighed to herself at the thought.

Aiko's eyes brightened tenfold.

"You guys made it! My magic's exhausted. And I gotta leave right now." Aiko gave Onpu and Hazuki a quick hug before pointing her wand at the only mirror in the cottage. Hazuki smiled at the name Aiko gave it through her letters she wrote. _"I call it; Bubbles. You should see it!"_ With its navy handle and diamond hilt, its glass which was a pale, sky blue color, circles—almost like bubbles—etched its smooth surface. Hazuki noticed at how playful her wand was. "_Magia della musica diffondi la verita. Osaka_." Aiko whispered. Within moments, a portal appeared and the blue witch disappeared into the mirror. Momoko got up and aimed her wand.

"Oh!" she turned around quickly. "Before I forget, I need to tell you that Doremi is waiting for you at Hana-chan's castle. She doesn't like leaving her side, but her magic is getting weak too. So head up over there, don't worry about this place. It'll last for a bit longer."

"How long?" Onpu asked, searching through her bag.

"I don't know. Until my magic stops working?" Onpu scowled at Aiko. "Sorry, I must warn you though. Don't use a mirror to get to the castle."

"Why not?" Onpu snapped, irritated. Momoko gulped at the fierce attitude.

"Everyone's scared that they'll trace the only gateway inside the castle, it'll leave Hana-chan vulnerable." Momoko's voice was serious and Onpu only sighed, taking in note of how in danger her daughter was.

"Flying there's the only option?" Onpu breathed. Momoko nodded in response. "Fine, we'll meet up with Doremi and figure out what to do there. Go take a break." The blonde smiled at Onpu's sincerity before aiming her wand.

"_Magia della musica diffondi la serenita. New York._" Momoko turned around giving them one last wave. "Later guys, see you soon maybe?" she asked, hopeful. Onpu smiled softly with Hazuki giggling in her spot.

"Maybe." Onpu replied as she and Hazuki bid their friend farewell. Momoko entered through the mirror and left the two young witches alone. Onpu finally huffed and flicked her short, dark hair. She faced Hazuki and said girl nodded her head. She stood up, following Onpu out the door. Their broomsticks had stayed just outside, levitating as if waiting for them to return. Both girls mounted their broomsticks and took off for the largest castle in the Witches Kingdom.

'_I hope it's not as serious as everyone's making it out to be.'_ Hazuki prayed as she led the way to Hana's castle. A prayer that she felt would be futile.

::::::

"Hazuki, are you sure this is the way?" Onpu was starting to doubt the orange witch. Everyone knew that Hazuki remembered the land better than anyone else, but it had been almost two hours of flying and Onpu could tell that Hazuki was growing irritated. Something that actually surprised Onpu every time she saw said girl irritated. Hazuki was usually so modest, patient, calm and well, nicer to everything and everyone no matter what.

Hazuki slowly came to a stop with Onpu near her.

"We need to lower our brooms." Hazuki whispered. Wary, Onpu slowly nodded and both witched descended to the ground leaving the cape of the cloak just inches off the ground.

"What's going on?" Onpu asked in a hush tone. She could tell by the grip Hazuki had on her broom that she was nervous. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know where we're going." Hazuki replied, biting her lower lip. "At least…" Hazuki struggled with her words. "I know that I know we were going the right way. And I don't think the land had changed at all. We're not going in circles either." Hazuki's brows furrowed close together. Her heart was beating fast. Doremi was expecting them, or had been. Which either, Hazuki didn't know. Fear was starting to grip her heart and looked at Onpu with loyal and needy eyes. Onpu sucked in a breath.

"Hazuki…" she whispered and gripped her friend's hand. Hazuki breathed out a breath she didn't know she was holding. Hazuki tightened their grip.

"Onpu… I'm scared." Hazuki cried softly. Her hazel eyes turned glassy. "Someone's messing with us. We keep entering places that shouldn't be where they are." She whispered. Her lower lip quivered. "We should go try to go back and stay to the ground." Onpu nodded at Hazuki's offer.

"Let's go slowly." Onpu suggested, which Hazuki was thankful for. They slowly flew back to the dark forest. Both girls gulped, nerves starting to get a better hold of them. They had left two hours ago from the forest. Why had they reached it in minutes? Shivers shot up each witches spine and they flew closer together, afraid that they'll lose each other in the dark. _'This place is even creepier at night.'_ Onpu thought to herself. Hazuki narrowed her eyes.

"Where's the cottage?" said girl asked. Onpu gulped again. Her fingers were starting to shake almost as bad as Hazuki's body. "Should we use a portal?" Onpu shook her head.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Her amethyst eyes searched desperately through the trees. _'I…don't feel good. Something's watching us.'_ Onpu spared a glance at Hazuki whose face had gone pale through fear. _'I have to calm down. For both of us.'_ "Don't worry." Onpu comforted softly. Hazuki sniffed and nodded her head slightly. "We'll figure something out." The Star Idol gave a 100-watt smile, or what she hoped looked like a 100-watt smile. "Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, making Hazuki almost jump off her broom.

"Wh-what is it?"

"I just remembered. I brought some stuff. I've been practicing at home a bit with it for fun, but hopefully it works for us." Onpu got off her broom and searched her bag. "I thought most of this was useless since we could just use this mirror here for a portal." Onpu showed Hazuki a handle mirror. Large enough for a portal usage, just barely. It was clean, like it was taken care of with most care. A simple opal color with vines going down its edges, almost tangling together. "Since we can't, I had these." Onpu pulled out an old map of Witches Kingdom from one of their adventures long ago. Her hand went around her neck and pulled out her necklace. A silver chain holding her witches stone, proof that she was one. It held her purple tear drop stone. Hazuki noted at how bright it was, filled with magic energy. "See? Look?"

Hazuki gently jumped off her broom and crouched on the ground as Onpu laid the map down, opening all four corners. She brought her necklace and held it above the map.

"I used this back home to find lost stuff from the studio." Onpu explained. "It's worked a few times, I'm not good at it yet. But maybe we can find the cottage this way." Hope shined in Hazuki's eyes.

"That's brilliant." She gushed and Onpu gave a victorious smile. At least someone had tried advancing their skills back at home. Hazuki felt an odd sense of lacking. Maybe she should have done more than wave her wand. Onpu snapped Hazuki out of her thoughts as she began chanting, eyes closed.

Soon enough, her stone started moving in a circle, as if searching. Onpu continued chanting quietly and Hazuki brought her wand out. With a light flick, a tiny fire appeared for light since the moon seemed to have moved on. The flame floated in between the two witches. Minutes passed of Onpu's continuous chants. Hazuki felt her friend growing irritated before she stopped completely. Onpu growled before gently placing the map into her bag. She pulled the necklace over her head.

"That was useless. I can't capture Momoko's magic anywhere…" Onpu sighed.

"We'll just make another right now then." Hazuki stated. Onpu, disappointed in herself, nodded.

"Yeah, okay."

A sudden gust of wind blew, almost throwing Hazuki and Onpu into the air. A howl followed after. Hazuki's light went out and both girls panicked. Hazuki quickly made another one, bigger than the last to help the girls in the dark.

"W-we should m-make it now." Onpu stuttered, her eyes big and fearful. Hazuki didn't trust her voice to speak and only nodded. Bushes around them started to move wildly and the trees above them rustled its leaves vigorously. "H-Hazuki?" Onpu grabbed the long handle of her broom. "L-let's just go above." Hazuki nodded before another strong gust blew. Snarls were heard and a dark creature pounced on Hazuki.

"ACK!" Hazuki landed on the ground with a rough thud. Her head collided with the ground roughly and a fairly large goblin snarled with barred teeth.

"HAZUKI!" Onpu shouted. Letting go of the broom, Onpu whisked her wand out. She pointed it at the goblin in its hideous form. It had a bulky figure with a sickening green color. Its eyes literally glowed red and from the distance between them, Onpu knew that it was taller and much bigger than the two witches together. Part of its lip was stitched together with thick rope. Its teeth were sharp, its arms almost touched the floor. It had long red claws and a pointy nose that dripped.

Disgusting.

The fire Hazuki made begun to fade. Onpu quickly raised her wand and tried to remember her personal spell. The bushes and trees making sounds were distracting. It was hard to concentrate, especially since Onpu was so afraid. She didn't even notice her knees buckling.

"_Magia della musica diffo—_UGH!" The wind was knocked out of Onpu and she gasped for breath. A metallic bitter taste came to her lips. With the little light left, Onpu saw blood. _'Am I bleeding?'_ A snarl distracted the witch who looked up. The goblin clutched Hazuki in the air with one of its hands. The orange witch began to regain conscious and looked at Onpu.

Why was she upside down?

"HAZUKI!" Onpu shouted, raising her wand. "_M-Magi—_" Onpu stopped when both girls heard a huge _CRUNCH!_ sound. They looked up and a large branch began falling. _'No way…'_ Onpu thought in disbelief, jumping out of the way.

"Onpu!" Hazuki shouted. The goblin threw the young witch at the tree harshly. Hazuki's head banged against the hard surface.

"NO!" Onpu shouted. The only fire that lit there way went out. "H-Hazuki!" Onpu called out desperately. She heard snarls and bushes rustling and the trees echoing. Everything in the forest was mocking them. _Her_. Onpu called out again. Her heart beat was uncontrolled and never in Onpu's entire life as a witch, ever came across something so physical in the Witches Kingdom. Fear was starting to paralyze the young witch. A little light appeared right next to Onpu.

"O-Onpu."

Hazuki. Hope resided in each hearts. Just as Onpu was about to hug her friend, something twist Onpu's arm back.

_Snap!_

It was a sick sound and Onpu screamed in pain. Tears traveled down her face and Hazuki quickly looked up at the attacker. Her eyes widened at the same goblin that threw her. Its smile was revolting as it grew. A deep laughter erupted from its throat and nearly spitted on Hazuki's face. Hazuki stilled immediately. Both girls were completely paralyzed.

What was going on?

With its other hand, the goblin pointed a nail in the center of Hazuki's upper body. Its red nail was sharp and looked like solid blood. Onpu could only stare as Hazuki felt hypnotized. Fear had grabbed them and held them in its grasp, laughing. The entire dark forest was mocking them and they knew it. Hazuki gazed fearfully at the goblin and Onpu stared helplessly at her friend.

'_M-my…arm… H-Hurts.' _The goblin's laughter was louder, echoing throughout the forest, almost vibrating every movement of its residence. It was slowly for both of them. The red nail dug deep into Hazuki's abdomen and both girls saw red slowly seep through her crème shirt. Hazel and amethyst eyes widened as if it was starting to hit them.

Hazuki looked at Onpu, tears cleaning her dirty cheeks. Her head tilted. Where was the pain? The next thing Hazuki saw was the environment flying past her. The orange witch almost thought that she was back on her broom, flying. She felt her body land roughly. Hazuki continued to cry without a sound. What happened? Hazuki tried to move, but her body was unwilling to listen. The young girl was growing tired.

'_It happened so fast.'_ Hazuki wasn't sure what happened first. Onpu screaming her name, her looking for Onpu. The goblin. What happened first? All she could think of was… _'Why? Why us?'_ Hazuki saw a red liquid expanding from her body. A sharp pain shot through the 17-year old. The pain from the injury began to settle in. Hazuki's eyes started to close, as if trying to numb the pain away.

They weren't ready for this. They just got to the Witches Kingdom. Her and Onpu, they had only been there for a few hours. Doremi was probably still waiting for them by the castle. The castle.

'_We were…just trying to get to the castle.'_ There was another loud snap and Hazuki could hear a tree cry out in pain and agony, moaning before its death. She closed her eyes fully. Almost painfully.

"M-Masaru…"

The tree fell on top of the quiet witch.

* * *

Masaru heard a howl echo through all of Misora. It was sad and painful to hear. But a wolf?

'_In Misora?'_ Masaru shook off the feeling. That wasn't possible. He was dressed in loose jeans, worn white sneakers and snuggled in his green parka. The boy had begun walking home after visiting Shiori from the hospital. Masaru didn't bring a trumpet with him, this time he was dragged by "friends" to visit the sweet, sickly girl. He could have sworn her face brightened at the sight of him. Masaru was suspicious of that but didn't jump to conclusions. _'She's nice….' _Huffing, Masaru continued on his way home. It was getting dark and the sky was turning to a dark shade of blue. Masaru felt eyes on his back. _'I should hurry.'_ Masaru quickened his pace.

He got closer to home and felt comfortable when people started to crowd around him. Though he wasn't fond of crowds (thus he hated his street), Masaru hated the feeling of being watched even more. Especially when he was alone. In the dark. Outside.

At night.

Masaru shook off another feeling. It had been a few days since Hazuki left and Masaru knew he missed her.

A lot.

They usually visited each other's house every day. It started out simple enough, they kept in contact throughout middle school. When his grades started to slip, Masaru went to none other than Hazuki to get help on homework. Not trusting anyone else and knowing Takeshi would laugh at him, Hazuki had been the best choice. Now it was frequent. Once a week became every day until it was just natural.

Masaru sighed deeply and opened the door to his apartment. It was just him since his step-mom went with his dad this trip. They trusted Masaru alone by himself. He was going to be 17 soon. Just like everyone else. Dropping his jacket off in a corner of his room, Masaru kicked his shoes off and plopped onto his bed.

Today had been boring in a pleasant way. Shiori had at least been in a good mood and that almost counted. The boy turned on his side and sighed. He was restless.

'_What's wrong with me?'_ He shifted in his bed, wanting sleep. Instead he heard another wolf cry. Masaru's brows furrowed. The first time was sad and painful. This cry was like a snarl, malicious and close by. _'Close by?'_ His eyes opened and Masaru crawled to look out his favorite window. The moon was a crescent shape and the boy stiffened. Either it was the way he was looking at the moon or people below just didn't care that the moon was smiling down on them. Weren't crescents on the side? Why was the moon starting from the bottom and its tips traveling up? _'I don't think the moon is supposed to look like that.'_

Masaru thought he finally lost his mind. Wolf cries? Smiling moon?

'_Smile…'_ Masaru thought back to Mutsumi. He had seen her around school and acted like their conversation days ago never happened. Suspicion raised in Masaru at the thought at that same smile still made him shiver.

"_Touched a nerve, did I?"_

Growling, Masaru climbed back into bed and forced sleep to come by and take him. But not before he started to hear rain fall on top of the roof. Smooth and swift, Masaru was grateful to the lullaby it gave him. And then he heard wind howling. A storm? So quickly? Masaru tried to shake off a feeling that had been bugging him. He imagined being with Hazuki in her room, his head rested on her back and focused on her even, soft breathing. They were reading on the large bed, just the two of them with the sun being the only light they needed. It was warm and cozy, Masaru sighed contently. He was missing her again.

With eyes suddenly heavy, Masaru let sleep take him. With nothing but the harsh wind, heavy rain and thunder booming in the sky to keep him company. A large cry echoed in the night as Masaru heard a tree fall down in the park where he first made Hazuki cry in. Masaru couldn't shake off the feeling this time, but still let sleep take him.

It was a truly sad sound.

* * *

_(A/N: What have I done?)_


	4. Just The Only Good

Quite the Quiet Pair

_Just The Only Good_

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Ojamajo Doremi**** nor do I own its characters.**

_(A/N: Ah, it's January 1, 2013 already?)_

* * *

Doremi paced with panic and growing fear in her heavy heart. She was at Momoko's house with Aiko. The three of them were nervous. Doremi a little more so since she had to leave Hana's side from the castle. But her best friends were missing. Even worse, disappeared from the Witches Kingdom and the Human World. This unnerved the three young girls.

Doremi, who had nothing but a loose pink t-shirt and black shorts on, paced all over Momoko's room. She grew more scared at the thought of what could have happened. She waited for them at the castle for hours. Almost a whole day in the kingdom. They never showed up.

Momoko rested idly on her spin-wheel chair, hands stuck on her laptop. She had her hair in a braid with pink pajamas on. Bags were under her eyes and she couldn't help but feel a little responsible. Having been the last of the three to see them, Momoko regretted leaving so early. _'If only I stayed…'_ What happened when she left? All the blonde witch knew was that they left as soon as she arrived in America.

Aiko was laying on Momoko's soft queen bed, tangled in its silver quilt, softly sobbing in her white shirt and crumpled black shorts. She had been in a rush leaving the castle. And only had enough magic to send herself back home. Slowly, Aiko sat up, covered in Momoko's sheets. "This sucks…" Aiko sniffed. Doremi stopped pacing and looked to her best friend. "They disappeared and we don't even have enough magic to look for them." Her blue eyes had red around them and Aiko's short, blue hair was disheveled. The blue witch looked up at the other two. "What do we do?"

"I don't know." Doremi smiled sadly. She found the floor interesting when Aiko sniffed again. "But Majo Rika and Lala are looking, that's for sure." Hope was evident in Doremi's strained tone. "So are the others, we can't give up either. Hana will make sure they're found."

"I just…don't know where to begin." Momoko started. Her eyes stayed desperately on the screen of her laptop like it was going to show her something. Doremi finally sat down next to Aiko, doing her best to calm her down. "They didn't even go back to the cottage." Sighing, the blonde girl folded her arms and rested her head. "Do we just wait for our magic to rest?"

"Yeah," Aiko agreed. "I can't do that. We have to go back."

"We only have enough magic to go back to our homes." Doremi reasoned. Aiko huffed in annoyance with the little each could do.

"I don't care, I'll go back and stay in the Witch Kingdom until I find them." Aiko got off of Momoko's bed and brought her wand out.

"Wait!" Momoko and Doremi cried, stopping their friend. "If you go back, you'll just be cursed. Remember Aiko," Momoko warned and glared at Aiko. She put her wand down and hung her head. "We're still considered witchlings in that world. Not full grown witches. We don't have that title yet." Aiko growled, frustrated and pulled away from her friends.

"It's not fair!" she yelled. "I just can't sit around at home and wonder what's happening to them." Aiko pressed. Her anger was starting to get the best of her. "Hana-chan's world is dangerous now! There are things, _creatures _a-and monsters out there! _**Dark Magic**_!" Emphasized the blue-haired female. "What if…what if…" Aiko stopped and rubbed her eyes furiously, trying her best not to cry. "Hazuki and Onpu aren't exactly the strongest and…they just got there. They don't even know what's happening."

"Shh, don't worry Aiko." Doremi cooed and put an arm around her friend. "If we go back now, we'll just worry Hazuki and Onpu. All we have to do is wait a few days. We won't wait long." Aiko shrugged Doremi off, feeling defeated. "They're stronger than they look, I'm sure they'll be fine." Momoko perked at that whilst Aiko stared Doremi in the eyes.

"Do you really believe that?" she asked.

"Yes." The red-head lied. Aiko stared at Doremi longer before sighing again. Nodding slowly, Aiko pointed her wand at Momoko's mirror. "Don't forget your stone." Doremi reminded. Aiko nodded again before casting a spell to go home. Doremi took one last look at Momoko before doing the same.

Soon enough, Doremi was in her familiar room back in Japan. Her bed and belongings seemed to have greeted her but in a sad way. Sighing, Doremi walked and slipped into bed realizing it was nighttime and there was a storm out. She shivered and tried to get some rest.

"_Do you really believe that?"_

A tear slid down Doremi's cheek before sleep overcame her. It was a long day. Doremi didn't believe that Onpu or Hazuki was okay. She couldn't shake the feeling that something bad had happened to them. The only thing that kept Doremi at ease was that Majo Rika, Lala, Roro and Rere, and everyone else, even Hana was desperately searching for them. That was the only good.

Just the only good.

* * *

"She's back."

Doremi should have listened to her little sister, Pop, and just stayed home. The red-head should have gotten Pop's hint when even her parents were surprised seeing their daughter home so early from her "trip." When they asked how it was, she should have lied to their face instead of giving them a bewildered look. Her parents didn't mind it, but Pop rolled her pink eyes and just walked out the door, more than ready for school. Not anymore witch-business.

Doremi really wished she had gotten Pop's hint to stay in her room.

"Fujiwara is back." Masaru spoke again. Doremi could hear the smile in his voice. And it was bad.

'_What?'_ Doremi thought to herself. "Uhh, no." Doremi replied nervously. She scratched the back of her head and Masaru raised a brow. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his gray sweater.

"…hn?" He didn't understand. "But she left with you days ago. To America."

"What're you talking about?" Doremi and Masaru entered Misora High. The thought of Hazuki returning seemed like a faraway dream since yesterday and Doremi's heart continued to drop.

"You guys went on a trip…" Masaru sensed the red-heads un-ease as she continued scratching the back of her neck. The moment those words left his lips, her dark pink eyes widened, realizing something. Masaru grew confused.

"Oh, about that…" Doremi grinned half-heartedly. "I had to catch an earlier flight! Because…because, because…" Lucky enough, the bell rang and Doremi pushed Masaru through the doors. "Well, Hazuki decided to stay in New York longer, so yeah! She's still there. Class is starting Yada-kun! C'mon!" Doremi literally dragged Masaru to his seat and sat him down before dashing to her own seat. Which was far, far, far, _far_ away. The quiet boy was suspicious of Doremi's actions. And he didn't like the way she avoided Hazuki in the conversation.

'_Still there?'_ He glared at the red haired odango girl. She was hiding something and somehow Hazuki was involved.

"Settle down, settle down." The teacher ahead of them begun to start the lesson and Masaru paid no heed to it. All of his attention was focused on Doremi and said girl could feel his stare from all the way in the back of class. She gulped. She was going to have to avoid Masaru for the rest of the day.

:::::::

It was no use. No matter how close Masaru got to Doremi, she would briskly walk away after smiling at him. He was growing mad by the time school ended. He didn't have enough patience for her and she was getting on his nerves. All he wanted was to know was how she was doing…kind of. Irritated, Masaru sighed and closed his locker. He walked to Takeshi who was just starting to leave. The taller boy looked down (which irritated Masaru even more) and raised a brow.

"Why are you so mad?" he questioned as the two left the building.

"Just Harukaze." He confessed.

"Ah, Kotake saw you staring at her. Thinks that you like her or something." Takeshi chuckled at Masaru's disgusted face. "But that's not true, eh?" Takeshi hinted. Masaru briefly looked up at his best friend.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say." Both boys walked in silence. Takeshi knew how nervous Masaru was, and how lonely he grew every day. Ever since Hazuki went away, Takeshi found most of his time spent with the shorter boy. And every now and then, he would sigh and the day that continued after, he would sigh more than the previous day. It took a few days for Takeshi to figure that out.

"Umm…"

"Yeah?"

"Well…" Masaru started. "It's just…"

"TAKESHI!" A cheery, loud voice boomed from behind. Takeshi craned his neck to see over his shoulder, knowing that voice too well. A soft smile graced his lips.

"Mutsumi." He greeted. The short girl gasped before looking up at him with bright eyes. The smile she had on was nothing like the smile she showed Masaru the other day. This one was the real Mutsumi at that made Masaru feel at ease, even for just a little bit.

"Takeshi, are you going to work today?"

"No."

"Great!" Mutsumi grabbed the taller boys hand and started to pull him away. "Come with me!"

"What the?"

"C'mon!" she urged, her smile brightening. "Sorry Yada-kun! I'll be borrowing this loser!"

"Hn." Masaru lightly smiled at the boy's dismay as he was dragged away to possibly another wrestling match she was going to partake in. Quietly, he continued on his way home and sucked in a deep breath, enjoying the fresh dew drops and cool, calm air that last night's storm left behind. With a dim-lit sky showing his way home, Masaru took the long way home. He wanted to pass by Hazuki's house.

These were his favorite kind of days. The kind of days were Masaru felt just a little bit happier when he picked Hazuki up from her school and walked home with her. It was days like this, with the leaves turning and falling and the cool air blowing on their skin that offering his jacket or sweater just seemed a little sweeter. And the smile she would give him, mixed in with the falling leaves and dew drops that fell from above.

It was his favorite scene.

"—nd them?" A familiar voice that Masaru's ears picked up. His good mood faded realizing that it belonged to none other than Doremi. He spotted red hair amongst a raspberry bush near a high-class house. Doremi was standing by its tall, coal black gates. She was talking on the phone. Curious, Masaru neared the bushes to see Doremi through little gaps of leaves and close enough to hear her conversation. "Onpu and Hazuki could be anywhere by now." Her voice was strained and something in Masaru sunk.

'_What is she talking about?'_ His heartbeat quickened slightly and nerves bit at his skin, crawling all over him. Doremi paced in front of the gates and then shook her head.

"They're still not found? There's no traces of Onpu or Hazuki anywhere?" Doremi cried and stopped her pace. She brought a sleeve to her eyes and dabbed them.

'_What…'_ Masaru gripped his heart fearfully, aware that Onpu and Hazuki were lost and missing in America. He thought of the leaf falling and splitting in two when he was at Hazuki's house. _'A bad premonition…' _He reminded himself, beating himself up for not attempting to stop his close friend from leaving.

"I-I know. I want to help too, but if we go back, we'll be cursed."

'_Cursed?'_

"That World isn't the same anymore, I know. But Onpu and Hazuki are witches, they'll be fine, I'm sure of it!" Masaru looked at Doremi's face when she said that. Her tone didn't say much, but he knew that she was lying. Something else bothered him.

'_Witches?'_

"They're capable just like Aiko, and she's one of the best. Hana will find them, they won't stop until they are found. Shh, don't cry Momoko." Doremi cooed soothingly. Masaru tilted his head at this, surprised by her soft tone. "We'll wait one week. Then we'll go back to Witches Kingdom and help search for them. We _will _find them, I promise." Doremi hung up her phone and sighed aggravated. She shook her head and grit her teeth with closed fists. Tears swelled up in her hot eye and Doremi tried to squeeze them shut. _'Useless… So so so so so useless…'_

"Harukaze."

Doremi immediately looked up at the voice and watched Masaru move away from a bush, his gaze over her strong. A light gasp escaped her as she continued to look back. Hope that he didn't hear her conversation suddenly pulsed through her but as he glared, Doremi knew it was over.

"Y-Y-Y-Yada-kun… How was your day?" Doremi pulled out a tired smile.

"What happened to Fujiwara?"

* * *

_(A/N: Ah, Happy New Year's everyone.)_


	5. What's Dark Magic?

Quite the Quiet Pair

_What's Dark Magic?_

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Ojamajo Doremi**** or any of its characters.**

_(A/N: Seahawks lost... I'm sad. But I still love my boys, come on 12th man!)_

* * *

"So…" Masaru started. He and Doremi sat on a bench eating Pocky sticks and explaining situations. Situations that involved two missing girls.

Who weren't in America. But in…

"Witch Kingdom? So you guys' are witches…" The younger boy stated. Doremi cringed at that, suddenly grateful that she wasn't a full grown witch yet. She'd be a toad if she was.

"Witchlings…" Doremi corrected with no heart in her answer. Instead, she sighed. "I'm not supposed to tell you these things, bad stuff are going to happen." Doremi stopped that thought. _'But no one has come to yell at me yet.'_ She turned to Masaru who was watching the sunset before them, ignoring the kids playing at the park. "What are you?" Doremi asked, interested. Masaru didn't spare her a glance when he answered.

"A human."

"Then…you must be one of those _Eccezione_ that Majo Rika was telling me about." Doremi retorted, interested in this new discovery.

"What does that mean?" Asked the dark haired boy. He took a bite out of his strawberry Pocky and nibbled on it. Honestly, he didn't care about being an _Eccezione_, whatever that was.

"It means Exception. You must have a sixth sense." Replied the red-head odango. She looked back at the sunset. "I heard that were some, didn't think you'd be one of them." Doremi marveled in this fact as it stayed quiet. "You know, usually, someone from Witches Kingdom would punish me for telling anyone this. That's why we all kept it a secret."

"Hn." Masaru closed his eyes and imagined long, brown hair, a cute face and soft laughter. _'She's…missing…'_ Masaru had a hard time accepting that. When Doremi told him, it was like having cold water splashed onto your body until you felt numb. Masaru was numb to the fact that his closest friends was missing…in a crazy kind of Wonderland. Witches? Magic? He felt lost at everything.

But he knew to take Doremi's word. Whatever she was saying, he knew deep down that it was real. Her tone and attitude was nothing less but honest. It even kind of made sense to him, he always felt odd about their group when they were little. _'To think that witches and magic exist.'_

"She talks about you." Doremi confessed and curled her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. Masaru glanced at Doremi as she gave a light smile. She breathed in before continuing. "She talks a lot about you. When we were little and you went to sneak into the warehouse to play your trumpet, she was the only one who believed that you didn't do anything wrong." Doremi giggled to herself at the memory. "I'm not used to seeing her being so bold and stubborn."

"Hn." Masaru felt a smile coming onto his lips. He remembered that time well in third grade. Hazuki was the only person who believed that he wasn't a delinquent. Masaru had spent so much time taking crap from other people, being blamed for things that he didn't do, he started not to care.

"Yada-kun?" Doremi interrupted his thoughts and he looked down at her. She looked sad and small. Smaller than how she usually was. A cold breeze swept past them. "I promise…when I go back, we'll find her. I'll find her and Onpu, I swear it. So…" Doremi looked up at the boy, a determined spark set in her red eyes. "You don't have to worry. I'll bring them back." Masaru nodded his head slowly, positive that the usual clumsy girl would bring them back. Bring her back.

Back to him.

Masaru lightly smiled Doremi's way and ruffled her hair a bit. That earned a scowl from her end but for a moment, Masaru felt light. He believed in Doremi's words. Even if she couldn't do anything now, she'd go back with a vengeance.

"Thanks." Another breeze past by them, and Masaru wasn't sure if Doremi felt its chill. He narrowed his green eyes as another bad feeling had settled inside him.

* * *

Light brown eyes flickered open and the vision of hers' was blurry. Hazuki rubbed her eyes and immediately noticed that her contacts were gone. She slowly got up and looked around her. It was a small room, no more than just a circular window, a drawer with food resting on top of it and a chair next to comfy bed she lay on. The floor, walls and ceiling looked like it was made from the best of oak, polished to a shine. A light orange scent lingered in the small room, giving off a comfortable feeling.

'_Where am I?'_ Hazuki threw the covers off and let her legs touch the floor as the brunette examined herself. She was dressed in a thin, cotton dress that ended just below her bottom. Hazuki blushed at the indecent length. _'Oh my.'_ She patted her abdomen and everything felt intact. There was no pain anywhere and the young girl smiled happily, twirling around. _'It's like I was never hurt. I wonder if Onpu—'_ The girl stopped the thought there and froze, her heart clenching tightly in her chest. Hazuki looked around the small room again and glanced at the bed. "O-Onpu?" Hazuki called out.

"_HAZUKI! M-Magi—. … …NO! H-Hazuki!"_

"_M-Masaru…"_

The teenager began to feel faint. Images of the dark filled her head. She squat to the floor, hands rushing to hold the side of her head. There was something ugly in her memories, Hazuki knew this.

'_Wh-what…'_ The brunette squeezed her eyes shut tight. Red mixed in with black. There was a tall image, bulky. Hideous and dripping. Then there was something fast with barred teeth facing her. Onpu's face… Hazuki furrowed her brows closely together. _'Onpu…'_ Violet hair was messy and there were dirt marks on Onpu's face. Hazuki could clearly see tear-stained marks along her cheeks and then Hazuki's memories went blank. Her body began to shake, as if it remembered all the pain she had gone through. Before the brown-haired girl noticed, she was sobbing.

"Excuse me? Are you awake now missus?" The door creaked open and Hazuki looked up with red eyes. She was greeted with a short, old fellow. Stubby, he was no more than a foot and a half off of the polished ground. The old man was cladded in red robes, black Velcro pants and tied brown boots. There was a tall, green pointed hat on his head. Hazuki could tell he was old because all you could see on his face was his thick, white eye brows, mustache and beard stopping in the middle of his chest. He looked like a kitten. Ignoring the sadness she was enveloped in earlier, Hazuki slowly brought her hands away from her head.

'_A gnome…?'_ She thought to herself.

"Missus?" He asked again with a soft tone. "Are you okay?" Immediately, Hazuki could tell that this ma—gnome, was sincere. There was something about him in his aura that was soft and caring. The gnome walked closer to Hazuki and gestured for her to sit on the bed. She obeyed. "Missus?"

"I-I'm fine." Hazuki answered quietly. She looked to the gnome who was no more taller than the bed and began to feel awkward. "I-I'm sorry for intruding in your home." The gnome smiled (from what Hazuki could tell) and waved her comment off like air.

"Nonsense!" He cheered. "You were a mess when Boo found you. Allow me to introduce myself." The gnome brought his small hand out to greet Hazuki. "Nicholas." A small, black blur popped out from behind and twisted in the air, catching Hazuki off guard. It spun to a stop and Hazuki stiffened. It was a black ghost that slowly faded into light blue. There was a dip in its head and yellow piercing eye sockets formed into a glare. Its smile was that of a zigzag and was the size of Majo Rika when she was a toad.

"Boo." Even its voice echoed itself. Hazuki trembled at the sight. Nicholas scoffed.

"That's Boo, he found you missus. He's a very kind ghost." Nicholas added, sensing her discomfort. "No need to be afraid of Boo missus." Boo slowly traveled to Hazuki's face and gave an eerie smile.

"Hellooooooo." It greeted. Goosebumps shot up Hazuki's arm and she moved deeper into the bed. Boo lightly frowned and floated next to Nicholas' side. "She doesn't like meeeee." Nicholas patted the ghost's head.

"In time Boo, in time." The old gnome turned his attention from a sulking ghost back to Hazuki. "If I wasn't mistaken missus, you were shaking when I opened the door? What happened? You alright missus?" Nicholas asked. Hazuki racked her memory.

"I don't think I am… I can't really remember well." Hazuki replied. She put a hand on her forehead. "I…" She started. "I lost a friend in the dark." Nicholas and Boo nodded their heads, listening intently. "W-we were… Going to help another friend but, we got lost. Something scary attacked us a-and…then I woke up."

"What attacked youuuuu?" Boo questioned. Hazuki shuddered at Boo's forever glaring face before answering.

"I think…a goblin? We were in a dark forest." Nicholas coughed.

"Are you from here?" The gnome asked. Hazuki shook her head.

"No, but I've been here before plenty. I know the landscape."

"Then you should also know to stay out of this forest at night missus. Only me and Boo know our way 'round here. It's dark and dangerous, especially with times like now. Even Queen Hana is losing power." Hazuki perked at that.

"C-can you take me to Hana-chan?!" It almost sounded like a demand, but Hazuki felt the urge to suddenly be at the castle filled with familiar scenes and faces. With her friends. The feeling diminished the instant Boo laughed loudly. Nicholas just sighed.

"Missus, we'd like to help you. You've been our first guest in years. But we can't leave outside the forest. We don't know the outside world like that. Beside missus, whatever attacked you and your friend is probably out there with other wicked monsters." Nicholas explained. Hazuki's spirit decreased with every word.

"A-am I…stuck here?" Questioned the young girl. Tears swelled in her eyes again when neither being answered back. "I-I can't be stuck here! Hana-chan! Onpu, everyone needs me!" Hazuki was now standing, towering over the smaller two.

"Why would Queen Hana want youuuuu?" Boo titled his head in confusion. "A mere girl?"

"I'm a witchling. I can't stay here for long." Hazuki replied. _'My magic will slowly get sucked into the Witches Kingdom since I'm not a full witch yet.' _She closed her fingers together in the air and brought them down. _'What the?'_ She repeated the action, concentrating on imagining her wand. "M-my wand…" By now, Hazuki noticed faintly, markings going down her arms in circles and squares that looked like symbols. The young witch turned her attention to Boo and Nicholas. The gnome seemed to have paled but seemed slightly amused with her situation. Boo looked down in shame and muttered an apology. "My wand won't appear." Hazuki stated. That was the worst possible thing yet.

"So sorry…" Boo muttered a little louder. Nicholas patted the ghost head which confused Hazuki. Wasn't Boo just air?

"You didn't know." Nicholas comforted.

"Wh-what's going on?" Hazuki chewed on her lower lip nervously. A bad feeling formed in her gut and whatever the ghost and gnome had to say, it wasn't going to be good for her. Nicholas gave a sigh which seemed tired for his old age.

"Missus. When Boo found you, you were in really bad shape. I couldn't bring you back in time. It was nearing dawn." Nicholas looked as if he frowned, but she couldn't tell because of his thick mustache and beard. "We didn't know you were a witchling. A mere human girl from another world. If you were born in Witches Kingdom, things might've been different for you." Hazuki grew even more confused. Boo took control of the conversation, feeling terrible.

"I'm sorry missusssss." Boo floated closer to Hazuki once more who was too confused to grow scared. She was nervous and the gut feeling she had grew deeper looking at Boo's glaring face. "But…when I found you, you were already dead."

"_What?_" Hazuki gasped and covered her mouth in shock. _'DEAD? Me?'_ Just the thought made Hazuki feel…lonely and sad. She had died. She was _dead_.

"That's probably why you can't remember well. I brought you back to life, but…" Boo didn't finish and just stayed afloat in front of Hazuki's face. Nicholas finished for Boo's stead, pitying his naive friend.

"It came with a price missus. Boo saw you and exchanged something you thought precious into another chance for life." Nicholas explained in a heavy tone. Hazuki saw where this was going and unbelief rocked through her body. She trembled and softly sat on the bed again, her eyes going blank. Slowly and swiftly, Hazuki felt around her neck for her necklace and found nothing there. Her Witches Stone was gone.

"M-my… M-magic?" Her tone broke and Hazuki felt a weight on her shoulders. And image of her stone shattering into millions of pieces broke Hazuki's heart. _'It's really gone?'_

"I'm sorry." Boo floated back to Nicholas. The warm room seemed to have gone chilled because Hazuki couldn't feel its former warmth anymore. "I didn't know you were from a different world. I used Dark Magic, I'm sorry missssssss."

"What's Dark Magic?" Hazuki croaked, feeling heartbroken the more faces she thought of appeared. All of the people she will miss…

"Evil Magic. Those markings on your arm missus…" Nicholas pointed to her arms and Hazuki nodded her head slowly, aware of them even more now. There was a slight distaste in her buds. "Those are proof that you are of Dark Magic belonging, breaking every Law in this World. You can't do your magic now." By now, Hazuki had swallowed a deep knot in her throat to keep from crying.

'_If I can't use magic… I can't go home? But… Doremi, Masaru and my parents… School. Hana-chan needs me, I have to find Onpu.'_ All possibilities of trying to go home or to the castle faltered in that small room. Finding Onpu seemed useless now too. Sucking in a breath, Hazuki spoke. "So…I'm going to die here soon?" At this, Boo shook his head immediately and quickly.

"No, you're part of this World nowwwww!" Boo reassured. If his expression could change, Hazuki could almost see eagerness in his expressions. "Those marks are letting you live here." Boo pointed to her arms.

"Can I go home then?" Hazuki asked, almost hopefully. The atmosphere was light, but at her question, everything sunk into darkness. Hazuki saw it in their body gestures. Nicholas slumped and Boo went back to looking at the floor. _'N-no?'_ The girl's hands started to tremble.

"I'm sorry…" Boo apologized for the umpteenth time. "You can't."

"Why not?"

"If you leave this World filled with Dark Magic…" Nicholas started. Hazuki heard Boo suck in a breath, almost anticipating Hazuki's reaction. "The moment you step out of Witches Kingdom, you'll die."

* * *

_(A/N: What have I done?)_


	6. Under The Tree

Quite the Quiet Pair

_Under The Tree_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ojamajo Doremi**** or any of its characters. This is just wild imagination.**

_(A/N: Please tell me if there are any mistakes in here. I checked my Word Document over and over. It's the strangest thing really, every time I uploaded this file onto fanfiction, there was one part I noticed that just seemed out of place and what I found, something I hadn't typed at all. So, if it does not make sense, please inform me in a review because I feel like some parts are out of place-and I'm much too lazy to read through like, over 2,000 words tonight._

_Please and thank you.)_

* * *

Masaru shot up from his bed in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. He ran a hand through his head and tried to remember his dream. He remembered seeing Hazuki. That much was sure, her face though… It looked smudged. Everything around her was dark and eerie. The teenager shut his eyes tightly as his body started to shake. Willing it to stop, more of the dream came back. Masaru took a deep breath as little fragments came about.

She was in a forest. Masaru remembered seeing her there. And then it was like she flew. Masaru saw a blue moon illuminating onto a dark land and he heard a howl. Masaru shivered. In his dream, there looked to be a faint red curving around her chest. His dream had closed up onto Hazuki's face and it broke his heart seeing it.

Without knowing it, tears began to run down his face. Masaru made no attempt to wipe them away as he remembered tears going down Hazuki's face. That hurt him. Hazuki's brows had furrowed and her glasses were broken. She had said something but Masaru couldn't hear anything. Then a large shadow casted before her. Leaves had fallen before an enormous tree fell on top of her small, frail body.

'_Wh-what was that? That dream…'_ Masaru bit his lower lip, trying to ease his erratic heartbeat. He hated that dream. Masaru absolutely _hated_ it. Hazuki had died in front of his eyes and that made his insides churn. _'Why would I dream something like that?'_ The boy wiped his face from his tears and got out of bed, walking over to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. There were slight bags under his eyes like he expected from a bad night's sleep.

Sighing, Masaru looked at his reflection, a troubled expression on his face. _'Why would I dream that she died? I don't hate Fujiwara… I really, really, really like her.'_ He tried to erase the dream from his mind. Masaru found it of no use as the last scene before he woke up replied in his mind. Either it was him, or his dream was getting more vivid and real. The more Masaru thought about it, the more he could almost hear the crashing sound of the tree collapsing on Hazuki. Another shiver went down his spine.

"_Touch a nerve, did I?"_

'_Did I do something…bad? What did I give away?'_

That memory with Mutsumi suddenly came back to the teenaged boy, like an epiphany. Something clicked and Masaru felt as if whatever he showed to Mutsumi under the tree, it had hurt Hazuki somehow. He didn't know how, just knew. It was like how Doremi said, a sixth sense. Masaru knew that whatever happened under the tree, it triggered Masaru to have that dream. His blood started to curdle and Masaru glared at the bathroom mirror.

Whatever had happened to Hazuki in the Witch Kingdom, Masaru knew it wasn't good. And it was his fault, _his _fault that she got hurt. Quickly exiting the bathroom, Masaru rushed to put on a loose sweater over his large black t-shirt and dangly jeans. Sliding into his green, worn-out Allstar shoes, Masaru grabbed his room keys, locked the door to his apartment and rushed out of the gray building. One thing was for sure, he had to check on Hazuki. He didn't know exactly _how_ he would go into another World, but he felt determined. With fast steps and the wind on his back, Masaru had a feeling that he'd get his answers at Misora High School.

Under the tree.

* * *

"Missusssss?" Boo peeked behind the door that Hazuki stayed in. He watched her back arch tensely for a moment before going back to her position before. Boo frowned (not that you could tell). He was filled with sorrow inside his small, misty body and the ghost felt awful. _'Maybe…I should have left her dead? She doesn't seem happy at all.'_ The tiny ghost floated in the air before coughing to get the orange witch's attention. "Missussss?" He asked again. Hazuki slowly turned around, emotionally facing the small ghost.

"Y-yes?" Was all that she could manage. Boo had in what his small, ghostly hands cold carry some kind of shirt. He presented the material to her face.

"For youuuu." It was a cute, delicate piece of fine silk. It was white with long sleeves that had little ruffles on the end. The V-neck stooped to where it was close to her shoulders, but not showing them off from what Hazuki could tell. "I made it… Hope you like it Missussssss." Boo handed the shirt over to the young witch and she took it gratefully.

"Umm…thank you." Hazuki's voice cracked but she gave a small smile towards Boo and he looked as if he smiled happily. "How thoughtful of you."

"I'll be right back!" Boo quickly flew behind the door and came back again with another piece of clothing. He gave it to her with what Hazuki could tell was eagerness. Again, she took the material gratefully and noticed that it was a long, dark brown skirt.

"You made these clothes for me?" Hazuki asked. Boo nodded his head and moved in the air slightly. "Th-thank you. I don't have anything to give back though."

"No need, no need." Boo replied. He levitated in front of Hazuki's face. "It's something I could do. You were sad the past day. I wanted you to cheer up!" Boo's yellow eyes gleamed with delight and Hazuki, for the first time, didn't seem to fear the ghost as much as she would have if she were ten years old again. Instead, a giggle escaped her lips as her grip on the clothes tightened.

"Thank you Boo. Could you please leave?" She asked kindly. Boo tilted his head, almost frowning. "I would like to try these clothes on."

"Of coursssse!" Boo left in an instant. Hazuki smiled as the door closed and she got up from the bed. Slowly peeling off the short, thin nightgown, Hazuki carefully pulled the cotton shirt over her head and let the sleeves dangle near her palms. She pulled the brown skirt so it fitted against her waist in a comfortable way, letting it reach just below her knees. The young girl twirled around and decided that she liked the simple, light, flowing feel it gave off.

"It's pretty nice." Hazuki whispered to herself as her hazel eyes rolled over the material. The way the material looked tightly woven, she noted that it was carefully made. _'And it fits so nicely…'_ The outfit brought out another small smile from the witch as she felt the sleeves with gentle care. _'…he made it for me?'_ Hazuki sighed as she sat along the bed again and stared out the one little window across the room.

The young witch let her mind wander. She was stuck in Witches Kingdom, and most possibly for good. She knew that much. There was no more going back to Misora unless she wanted to die. That wouldn't do her much good. But neither would be doing nothing be any better. Hazuki propped her chin on her knee and noticed that outside the window, it was raining and the clear glass started to fog. Her brows furrowed close to her eyes.

'_What do I do now?'_ She asked herself. Hazuki let out another sigh as she continued thinking of other possibilities. _'I can't do anything… But I can't live here either… I don't want to intrude on Nicholas and Boo's life more than I already have. But… Where do I go? I can't go home.'_

Home.

Hazuki closed her eyes and imagined laughter on an autumn day in Misora. The before green leaves had turned brown, orange, yellow and red. Her favorite colors. The trees were getting ready for a deep sleep. There was gray pavement and laughter from little kids chasing one another, playing and older kids walking together. The air was cold and everyone was snugged in a large jacket, mittens and scarf. It was a happy and friendly atmosphere. And then she saw Doremi at ten years old.

Her beautiful odango red-haired friend. Doremi had a pink t-shirt with white shorts, pink sneakers and a dark, violet vest. She smiled at Hazuki with an outstretched hand and soon enough, Hazuki saw three more faces. Momoko, Onpu, and Aiko. Hazuki saw all of them as ten, each eager for something different than the other. Each girl sported a huge grin and strangely enough, Hazuki felt the tears well up in her eyes.

Home.

Probably the one place she most desperately wanted to be at right now. Where her mother was. Hazuki suddenly missed how she would fret over her all the time. She would never have someone worry like that for her again. And her friends… If they ever found her in Witches Kingdom, they could never truly stay with her unless they were full-fledged witches—but even they had families at home. She thought of her dad, he'd been overseas directing another movie. No one knew the time length between Witches Kingdom and to the Human World. It always differed, for all Hazuki could tell, ten month could have already gone by and her dad wouldn't see his little girl. Ever. And Masaru…

'_Masaru…'_ Hazuki finally felt the teardrops that landed in her hands. She remembered his aloof personality towards others and his natural clumsy self. _'I'll…never see him again.'_ The thought alone caused a huge weight to land on her small shoulders and they shook.

"_Ah, really?"_

"_Yes."_

"…_I see. …Fujiwara?"_

"_Yes Masaru?"_

"_When will you be back?"_

…

"_I'm packing tomorrow."_

"…_I see. Bye."_

'_That's all we said?_' The young girl asked herself. Hazuki let out a sob she didn't know she was holding. "I'll never see him again… Or anyone." In her head, one by one, everyone's faces disappeared. Whimpering to herself out loud, Hazuki didn't notice the door slowly creak open to find Nicholas and Boo standing there awkwardly observing her. Boo turned his attention to Nicholas.

"What should I do, Nicholas?" Boo asked the short gnome. Nicholas looked up at his old friend and gave a light, knowing smile. He then made his way to the crying girl with every wobbly step.

"Missus?" He greeted calmly. Hazuki continued her loud cries, each sniff and cough a stab in Boo's non-existent heart. The small ghost began to feel worse and worse. "Missus, what's on your mind right now?"

"I-I…" Hazuki started. She coughed, trying to get the lump out of her dry throat. "I don't know. I-I think I… I…I _want_ to go home." Hazuki pitched. Her hands traveled to her face, drying to clear her eyes. Everything was all but a white blur to her and the faces she loved dearly had all but disappeared from her thoughts. "B-but I can't. What do I do? What do I do? What do I do? Where do I go?" Hazuki cried as her body started to rock gently. "I…can't see my l-loved ones. If I do, I-I'll die." Hazuki roughly rubbed her nose with a sleeve.

'_It's finally settling in.'_ "It's okay Missus, you can cry." Nicholas comforted Hazuki. His small hands caught hold of one hand and held Hazuki's hand in his. Nicholas patted the back of her hand gently. "Or…" He started. Boo, who was still by the door, inched his way inside the room. Hazuki sniffed.

"Or…? O-or what?" She croaked.

"Or you can decide what you _want _to do. And decide where you _want _to go." Nicholas answered with a light smile. Hazuki's eyes stared at the smaller, older gnome. Her heart beat quickened at the sudden thought. Nicholas, with his ever long beard, made his way out the door. "Come Boo, Missus needs some rest." The gnome looked at her. "You can stay here and decide however long you want to stay Missus, you have a home here." At this, Boo nodded his head quickly.

'_Stay here?' _Hazuki asked herself, pondering on the thought. _'A home here?'_ A soft, warm feeling settled in her guts at the thought, debating if it were really such a good idea.

"But…" Nicholas continued. "If you ever wanted to leave, I understand." By now, the gnome stood in the doorway, his back facing her. Boo had stuck by the gnome's side, staring at Hazuki whose cries had muffled away. "I'd be sad too if Boo ever disappeared." With that, he and Boo exited the room silently shutting the door behind them. It left Hazuki alone with her thoughts.

'_What do I…want to do?'_ Repeatedly, Hazuki asked herself that. Rubbing her face from dry tear marks, Hazuki looked out the window again. The rain fell harder and droplets rushed down the glass from outside.

Masaru. Mom. Dad. Doremi. Aiko. Onpu. Momoko. Baaya. Hana…

Nicholas and Boo had been nothing but kind to her and Hazuki felt her heart frown at that. If she were to stay, Hazuki knew that she'd never really be happy. If she stayed, she might have grown to love Nicholas and Boo fully. But was that all there was to life? A home behind that small, circular window? Hazuki sucked in a deep breath. There had to be something more for her outside that window. Clenching her fists, Hazuki breathed out slowly, concentrating.

Masaru. Mom. Dad. Doremi. Aiko. Onpu. Momoko. Baaya. Hana…

"Where…do I want to go?" _'Masaru?'_

* * *

Catching his breath faintly, Masaru climbed over the fence and lightly touched back down to the floor. Carefully, he made his way to the back of the school, not wanting to set any alarms off. Slow and steady, Masaru ducked below a window in case someone was there and slowly stopped at the corner. He glanced slightly to see if any security or police was there.

He saw the large tree under the moon's limelight. It was a cold and windy night but the leaves were unmoving. Too still for his liking. Gulping, Masaru felt another bad premonition.

'_Should I continue?'_ He asked himself. All of his body shook for a 'no.' Masaru took a step back, hesitant. Squinting, he could see a faint silhouette of a person waiting by the tree. Even more of a reason not to go.

"_M-Masaru…" _A familiar, soft voice. His reminder.

'_Fujiwara.'_ With her smile in mind, Masaru quickly shook off the bad vibes he was getting and walked casually to the large tree in the center of the back. Getting closer and closer with each crunch under his step, Masaru felt his body reacting to the silhouette. It hadn't moved from its spot, but he could feel their eyes on him. Watching each step, each breath he took closely. It wasn't until he could see the brown boots that Masaru snarled at the figure. "Who are you?"

The figure stepped out revealing a short, petite girl. With pale olive, sickly skin and short hair ending below her round face. Masaru felt breath leave him as he stared into the girl's eyes. A dark chocolate that he felt a connection to when he was smaller. A tiny smile curved on her face as she giggled lightly and waved at him. All he could see was a shadowy cloak around the small body, ending before her knees and ending almost in rags.

"How are you? Ya. Da. Kun?" A punch to the gut as Masaru swallowed.

"N-Nakayama?"

* * *

_(A/N: In case anyone forgot, Nakayama is Shiori from __Ojamajo Doremi__. Oh, suspense. Well, I wonder how that happened._

_Fun Fact: I couldn't help but think of _Under the Sea_ when I wrote this chapter's title. I kind of laughed at it.)_


	7. I Made A Decision

Quite the Quiet Pair

_I Made A Decision_

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ojamajo Doremi**** or any of its characters. This is only my imagination growing in all sorts of directions.**

_(A/N: Viola! Oh, and be wary of this chapter. There is ONE swear word. Oops.)_

* * *

He couldn't believe what his emerald eyes were seeing. Masaru was at Misora High's courtyard, under its infamous single tree in the moonlight. And none other before him was Shiori Nakayama. She was smiling that same, toothy grin Mutsumi had showed him days earlier under the same tree. A shadow crossed her face as she stepped closer to Masaru, her face too close to his for his liking.

Stepping away, Masaru glared below him at the girl. In the cold, he wanted to hate her for being the silhouette under the tree. He wanted to hate her for wearing a dark, black cape that shined in the moonlight. He wanted to hate her smile, small figure and even the hair on her neck. More than anything, he just wanted to _hate_. Hate her.

"Who are you?" Masaru asked through tight lips and closed fists. Shiori stepped closer, her body pressing against his. Just the contact made him shudder. She laughed lightly and let her hand travel to her chin.

"Yada-kun, it's me. Shiori." Her voice was still the sweet voice Masaru had visited over the years constantly, but he was not convinced.

"No you're not." He retorted and took another step back, the ground cracking under his green shoe. "You're _not_ Nakayama." Just then, the dream from earlier came back to Masaru. Shaking his head, Masaru glared at Shiori. "Where is she?" Shiori's smile only widened as she tilted her head.

"Where's who?"

"Don't play dumb with me!" he barked. Anger swelled inside Masaru, doing its best to keep from getting fearful.

"I'm not!" Shiori insisted, the shadow on her face growing. There was a tease in her voice that irked Masaru. "Where's who? Fujiwara-chan?" Before Masaru could retort, Shiori continued. "Or the Shiori you know?"

That shook Masaru. All of a sudden, his anger crumbled to bits and pieces, leaving him shocked and speechless.

'_The…Nakayama I know?'_ Masaru asked himself. "What…do you mean?" Shiori _tsk_-ed and twirled around, her back facing the young man.

"I can tell easily who's in your heart." She announced. "Really, Yada-kun. You're too easy to read." Sighing, Shiori's feet started leaving the ground and looked back at him. Her brown eyes shimmered green as she crossed her legs. In the air, a heartfelt laughter was heard. "That makes it all the more fun to break you into pieces."

Masaru's glare intensified.

'_So this person's out to get me?'_ "Who are you?" He asked again, this time was more like a demand and that caused Shiori to roll her eyes.

"Funny you should ask. Question is; _who_ are _you_?"

"What do you mean?" The question was quick and to the point. That made Shiori smile.

"You know, you don't know a lot of stuff. Ah!" Shiori clasped a fist into her palm as if remembering something. "You probably already know about Witches Kingdom, don't you?" That baffled Masaru.

'_How'd…she know?'_ Shaking his head, Masaru replied; "I don't know what you're talking about." Shivering, Masaru pulled his sweater a little closer to him. Shiori floated closer to Masaru and giggled. It was like hearing nails scratching a chalkboard, practically squealing.

"You shouldn't lie." Shiori grinned evilly. "Speaking of Witches Kingdom…I wonder how that little girlfriend of yours is doing." In the moonlight, Shiori's pale face brightened. And not like the light in the dark kind of brighten. Masaru felt like he was choking for a moment. "You know, last time I saw her, she looked as good as dead."

"You're lying." It was almost a snarl and Masaru felt his heart jumping out of his chest. His dream hit him like a tidal wave and his throat started to itch. His mouth felt dry and whatever Masaru wanted to say next died on his tongue, forcing him to give a hateful glare towards Shiori. For a moment, her green eyes looked shocked and she seemed to have floated away a bit, giving Masaru only little satisfaction. _'There's no way Fujiwara is dead.'_ His heart didn't believe it.

Didn't want to believe it.

Coughing, Shiori folded her arms and narrowed her eyes, daring Masaru to continue with his accusation against her. With no reply, she scoffed. "But it's true. I saw how that goblin threw her, knifed her, choked her." An unnerving grin. "After all, I sent it to her." Masaru started to growl. Shiori rolled her head back and cackled.

Just then, a strong gust of wind blew between them. It shot Masaru's belief down and soon enough, his body was shaking.

Another bad premonition.

"Were…" Masaru bit his lower lip, hating himself for how cowardly he sounded. "Were you the one who made the tree fall too?" It was like a silent cry and plea in the night. Shiori immediately stopped laughing and looked at the boy on the ground quickly, her round face scrunching up in bafflement.

"…how do _you _know that?" She questioned, her feet finally touching the flat terrain. Slowly, Shiori's face faded into another one. Masaru watched as her hair grew just a bit longer and seemed to turn like a color of his own, a dark green. Her pale skin darkened in the light and the cloak around her grew to touch the floor. Masaru furrowed his brows. Though he didn't want to admit it at all, she looked a little bit like him. A year or two younger. Taking three strides in front of him, the girl shoved him.

Gasping, Masaru clenched his shoulder.

'_Th-that actually hurt…a lot.'_ Feeling around his shoulder blade, Masaru knew that there was going to be a dark bruise. It hit him then.

She was strong, whoever this younger girl was. And she growled at Masaru's lack of reply.

"I asked you! How do you _know _that!?" She chewed on her lower lip and Masaru found himself almost looking in a mirror. The expression on her face (which looked very much like his own face) was vicious. Masaru stayed silent. "Fine, don't want to answer do you?" Literally jumping near his face, the girl hissed. "You'll never see that girl in your life again!"

A threat.

"I'm the one who did it!" Yelled the girl. The air around her was dark and dangerous. "I killed that stupid girl you love so much! Do you like that? Huh? Do ya?!" It was said with so much hate that Masaru felt his feet quiver before she shoved Masaru again and he was sent flying ten feet away.

"_Ugh_!" Landing with a thud, Masaru slowly sat up, groaning. Pain circulated around his left arm. Wincing, Masaru tried to move his left arm only to find it tremble. _'Am I…scared?'_ Gulping, Masaru shot up as a finger pointed to his face. The girl before him, her green eyes glowed in the dark.

"_You_…" She glowered. "I _hate_ you."

"Feelings mutual, bitch." Masaru spit out harshly, acting completely of the opposite of what he was feeling. Inside, even though he loathed himself to admit it, he was _scared_.

"What was her name? Hazuki?" She whispered, taking her finger away from Masaru's face.

"Don't say her name!" He snapped, trying to channel his fear into hot anger. Roughly getting up to his feet, he pulled his right arm back and swung at the girl with all his might. Instead, she caught it and pulled him close with an unnerving grin on her face. The smile was wide, going to each end of her face. And her eyes, her eyes glowed again with hatred. Masaru breathed heavily, trying to calm himself down.

"You know, you took away the fun part." The girl admitted with mock. "I wanted to be the one to tell you that the tree fell on her, after all, I did it." Her smile disappeared and her expression turned serious. "But I guess it doesn't matter anymore since you won't be seeing that precious little girlfriend of yours since she's _dead_."

"She's not dead." Masaru stoically replied. The girl sneered.

"Yes she is! And guess what?" She pulled Masaru closer to her face so that there was almost no room between them. The girl scowled. "It's your entire fault. _Just for existing._"

"Fujiwara's not dead!" Masaru bit out angrily.

"Tell that to yourself. You can't even see her body and the dangly way it just lays there." The girl hissed. Her shadowy cape looked like it was fading into a dark mist. The girl _tsk_-ed and rolled her precious green eyes. "And you know why she's dead? Because of you. Everything is your fault. _Everything_." A tiny smile made way to her face, a more chilling smile than her large obnoxious one. "It's too bad, really. A cute little thing she was." Masaru snarled at her as she pushed him away. "Even if you wanted to see her dead, you can't. You can't enter Witches Kingdom, no one without a magical touch can."

There was a dark chuckle in the air that wasn't hers'. It was more of a masculine kind of voice. Masaru looked around only to find no one. Looking back at the girl, she was disappearing right before his eyes.

"Well, looks like I have to go. Good-bye Yada."

"What's your name?" He asked carefully.

"Masaru." She replied with a dark glint in her eyes. "Oh, and before I go, did you know?" Soon enough, all Masaru could see was her face from the light the moon illuminated. "The last thing she said before she died was your name?" The girl Masaru snickered. "_M-Masaru…_" She mimicked with a sad tone. The girl Masaru laughed until she was no longer there, leaving Masaru speechless.

He felt lost. Not because he couldn't do anything. And not because Hazuki had died. The tone the girl he met used… The sound. A tear leaked out of his eye. It had sounded just like Hazuki. All but painful and sadness in a sweet, dying tone. Slowly, the boy fell to his knees, crushed.

His memory went back to Hazuki's house. With just the two of them, his head on her back and both had a book in their hands. The sun was shining, it was warm and bright everywhere in her huge, comfortable room. It was just them in their own little worlds. There were no words exchanged and that made them connect better than if there were any at all. Masaru could tell how she was feeling just by the way she breathed. Whether she was happy, sad, angry, frustrated or troubled. Masaru would know by just laying his head on her back. Listening to each breath closely, each intake of air a detail. Masaru cringed inwardly, feeling defeated.

'_And now she's not breathing at all.'_

* * *

The orange witch exited the room, her mind made up. She charged her way to what she hoped was the living room, to find Boo and Nicholas. With a head held high, Hazuki turned a corner of the cottage house and spotted a small living room—taken back by it simple riches. It had a comfy atmosphere about it, dined in a mix of red and brown, and waxed floor with pictures along the wall. There was a fireplace, covered by stones that build into a mantle alongside the wall.

Hazuki took a closer look at the pictures hanging on the wall and noticed that most of them were of scenery. It was filled with meadows, forests, mushrooms, grass, rain… Hazuki spotted a picture that was just of their small house and sucked in a breath, breathless from its simple beauty.

'_This place…this scary forest…is actually quite beautiful.'_ Hazuki mentally told herself. Bringing a hand to her chin, a look of adoration crossed her face before she heard flute playing outside. Curious, Hazuki made her way to the small front door of the home and opened to door. There, she found the two people (well, gnome and ghost) she was looking for.

Nicholas sat in a rocking chair on the tiny patio and was playing a wooden flute with an odd, peculiar shape. It twisted and turned like a branch, small and delicate, but played a heavy, loud sound that seemed to echo throughout the dark forest. Boo floated happily nearside Nicholas and hummed a song, matching the rhythm of the flute in perfect sync. The rain splashed behind them, adding character and background music to their moment. Something in Hazuki's heart squeezed that moment and almost questioned her decision. Hazuki shook that thought aside.

She wasn't going to let this warm atmosphere get to her.

She had something to do.

Clearing her throat, Hazuki spoke out loud. "Nicholas? Boo?" Hazuki piped up. Immediately, the music stopped playing from Nicholas' flute and Boo's non-existent lips ceased its melody. The rain continued to pour down.

"Yes, Missus?" Nicholas asked finally while putting his flute neatly on the ground. Hazuki sucked in a breath.

"I made a decision." Stated the brunette giving a wry smile. "You two have been so kind to me. A-and I wish I had something to give but…I can't stay here. There's something I have to do. Someone that I have to protect." Hazuki's voice shook and continued to look at the gnome and ghost. They—in turn—nodded and smiled.

"You don't have to give us anything Missus." Nicholas responded. Boo nodded in agreement. "We're just glad that you have entered into our lives."

"R-really?" She gasped, taking a step back. Boo floated closer to Hazuki and touched her, sending shivers down the witchling's spine. It was surprisingly warm.

"Besides." Nicholas jumped from his rocking chair and wobbled his way to Hazuki's side. "We had a feeling you wouldn't stay here." Placing short arms on the waist, Nicholas seemed to have grinned. "In fact Missus, Boo had already packed for your travels." Looking at the ghost, Hazuki felt tears swarming in her eyes.

"Y-you're too kind." Warmth washed over the lost witch, touched by the kindness of the strangers in her life.

"This way Missusssss." He rasped and led Hazuki back to the living room. There on the couch, as if appeared by magic, was a large backpack and a sleeping bag rolled onto the side, tucked under the bag. It was latched tightly together. "There are a few clothes and fruits inside." Boo informed before turning around. "Missus, are you going to the castle?"

"Yes." Hazuki's tone was definite and sure that the ghost seemed to shy away, falling slightly transparent.

"Will you leave tomorrow then?" Boo asked sadly. Hazuki, albeit stayed at the cottage for only a day or two awake, had grown a soft spot for the gnome and ghost here. She even felt a little sad at leaving them but her determination and will did not fade.

"Yes." She replied and walked closer to Boo. "I'll stay one more night, is that okay?" Hazuki asked. The ghost just nodded and traveled back at the entrance of the living room. Boo spared Hazuki a glance before shying away.

When gone, Hazuki sighed in relief and sat down by the bag, looking through it. There was only enough room for a couple of fruits, two shirts of fine, crème silk, an extra skirt, and a little bit of canned goods with—and this surprised the young witchling—a classic black witches pot and a spoon. Hazuki raised a brow and giggled to herself.

'_They went all out, huh?'_ She thought to herself, admiring their attempt to ease her suffering. The small enough pot took her by surprise, those were only something the movies portrayed. Most witches themselves ate fancy or just made food appear. _'But it'll have to do. At least I have something to cook with.'_ A frown then tugged at the face of the young girl, a sudden troubled thought passing by.

When she left, how was she ever going to survive?

* * *

Takeshi checked his phone again, growing frustrated and concerned. Without pause, he had been texting Onpu all week, almost going into a month and she hadn't replied to any of his calls. The teenager was growing weary and Takeshi couldn't stand the thought as to why she was not replying. Had she truly liked him at all? And what's worse, Masaru hadn't come to school for three whole days.

'_And he's not picking up his phone either, that idiot.'_ The tall boy thought to himself bitterly, slouching in his seat as the teacher explained what an atom consisted of. Something about electrons and such, not that he was paying any attention. Running a hand through his violet gelled hair, Takeshi looked at his phone once more near his pocket.

'No new messages' it said.

Sighing out loud, he put the cell away and tried his best to focus on the lesson before him. His uncharacteristic behavior caught the eye of his best friend—Mutsumi. She sat a few chairs away on Takeshi's left and her brown eyes furrowed with worry. She had been noticing for a while that he was acting strange. Takeshi had been too quiet, more than usual. When she talked to him, he only nodded. And it only got worse since Masaru stopped coming to school.

'_I hope he's okay.'_ She thought while taking down notes in her notebook. A blush smeared her cheek at the thought of her best friend. She didn't like him like that. No way. _'But he has seemed so down lately… What can I do for him?'_ She wondered to herself and looked up back at the board. _'Ah, surprise party. Just the two of us.'_ Mutsumi giggled lightly to herself and planned out in her head everything she wanted to get ready for Takeshi.

Anything to get him to smile again.

:::::::

Takeshi opened his locker, putting his stuff away quickly. Determined, Takeshi was going to visit Masaru who hadn't been returning his messages either. _'Something's up with him. And Segawa-san… I wonder if she's okay in America.'_ Shaking his head, the tall teenager closed the locker shut tight and turned around only to yelp. "Gah!" He all but shouted, his heart pace increasing at the slight scare. Mutsumi laughed full heartily, folding her arms across her sides.

"Takeshi! It's only me!" She exclaimed happily, wrapping a red scarf around her neck. Rolling his eyes, Takeshi ruffled Mutsumi's short hair making a mess of it.

"Yeah, yeah." He replied surly. That caused the smile on Mutsumi's face to lessen, but it didn't get her down. "What do you want?" Takeshi asked, aware of the smile that left his best friend's face.

"Oh, uh…" She stuttered lightly. Hotness collected in her cheeks and Mutsumi urged them down. "I was wondering, do you want to hang out today?" Her voice was loud and few students who passed by spared them a glance before going back to their own business. The quiet boy just shook his head, rejecting Mutsumi's offer. A weird, overwhelming sadness passed over her.

"I'm going to check up on Masaru today." Explained Takeshi who tossed his bag over his shoulder. His dark iris stared down at Mutsumi who managed a tiny smile in understanding. "Well then," he turned around, "see you later." With that, Takeshi walked out the door and left Mutsumi looking after him.

For a strange reason, the wrestling-loving girl felt her heart squeeze tightly, constricting her lungs making it difficult to breath. Waves of heat circulated throughout her body and she was left with a tingling feeling in her heart, making everything dizzy. The only clear thing she saw was Takeshi's back, disappearing out the door.

:::::::

Arriving at the towering gray apartment building, Takeshi stopped to look up at the window he was sure was Masaru's room. He felt contemplated, and yet wondered if Masaru was actually home. And if he was, would he open the door? Shaking those thoughts away, the 17-year old boy entered the aging building and slowly paced his way over to Masaru's door.

He knocked on the red door in the hallway, its vibrant color standing out of the dull grayness of the building itself.

No answer.

_Knock. Knock. Knock._

Takeshi waited patiently for Masaru to open the door, wondering if his friend was actually home. Minutes passed and quietness lingered in the air. Confused, the boy pressed his ear to the door, trying to hear for any sound of movement or life.

There was none.

_Knock, knock, knock!_

He tried again, but to no avail. _Knock. Knock. Knock._ "Oi!" He called out. "MASARU!" Takeshi shouted out loud. He knocked on the door once more, louder and harder.

_KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCKKNOCKKNOCKKNOCK!_

'_What's he…where is he?'_ Takeshi dug into his pocket for his phone again, flipping it open and called him under 'Shorty.' There were four rings until the line picked up.

"_Hello?"_ A voice said on the other line. Takeshi felt relief wash over himself until his ears perked at the voice. It was too high for it to be Masaru's. To be sure, Takeshi asked again.

"H-hello?"

"_Who's this?"_ The voice asked tiredly. With wide eyes, Takeshi stared at his phone for a good minute.

'_A-a girl's voice?'_ That wasn't weird at all. "Umm, is this Masaru's number?" Takeshi asked, feeling dumb and unsure. He heard rustling through the other line and then the girl spoke up.

"_Yada-kun! It's a friend! Who's 'Hugged-A-Log' by the way?! … Oh! Oh! Hasebe-kun! It's Hasebe-kun? … Uh huh, yeah, okay. Hasebe-kun, you still there?"_ The girl asked.

"Err…yeah?"

"_It's me! Me! Doremi!"_

"H-Harukaze?"

* * *

_(A/N: "An introduction of the bad guy and Takeshi steps into the picture!? Ooooh dear! Hazuki's fate begins!"_

_Is what I want to say, ahah! But I think it was getting good. I was typing this chapter and was on edge myself, thinking;_ 'What's gonna happen next?! Oh no! A cliff hanger?! DANG IT! Why'd I do that?!'

_For real though._

_Thank you for reading!)_


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